The One The Whole Town Abandoned

Chapter 27 Unexpected Goodbye

Ashleigh's POV

Dominic and I turn around to walk back to the pack house from the burning of the Luna and I'm caught off guard by all the pack members still staring at me from the pack house windows. It's like they have to have a peek at what I'm doing but they feel it's wrong by me not participate as they did... My eyebrows scrunch together in confusion, so I look up at Dominic.

"Why are they staring at us? Did I do something wrong? I didn't mean to offend if I did." I softly say to Dominic. He starts shaking his head without hesitation as he responds, "You did nothing wrong, my love. Most people don't stay for the burning and for YOU, out of all people to stay after the newfound evidence.. was more of curiosity for them, I would assume at least... But you're not like other people, so you will always be stared at because like my father said to me when I told him about you... You're the rainbow in a world of black and white. I do love that you're not like us, you're very noticeable and memorable, affecting everyone in your wake... I love every bit of it... It's almost refreshing like a breath of fresh air because you see and do things differently than we do."

I look at him curiously as I'm trying to understand what he is saying... I think about all the information given to me, trying to process it.

It kinda makes sense. I guess I can see what he is talking about because I'm not like any of them and I never have been since I can remember.. it just really makes me feel like the sore thumb that sticks out, but I guess if he loves it and thinks it's great qualities for a Luna.. then here I am loud and in charge.. somehow.

The problem is, in these types of situations, I think I need an adult to help me out and then I realize I am the adult and I don't know what to do at that point. With so much self-doubt, I'm just worried I'm not going to stick up to the standards that are set for me by him and his pack.

"Isn't it a bad thing that I do things differently? I know you have talked about the certain ways that you do things... So will people not like me as the Luna because of the fact that I don't do things like you guys? I'm not trying to go against tradition or anything, I just don't know the traditions." I asked curiously because I have to know. I knew I was different from them, but it looks like they do things a certain way and I don't know those ways at all.

Dominic stops and turns to me, still holding my hand in his, as he responds. "Baby, I don't care if my pack likes you as Luna or not... because my pack has NO say whatsoever, in who will I have by my side to take care of my pack... Guess what? You're who I want as my partner to help me and my pack. Whether you have the self-confidence you should.. or not... I DO believe with ALL my heart you will be an amazing Luna. I like the way you look at situations because it's different from what I'm used to. I also think you will be a great Luna for the pack because you will give me new ideas and a different outlook on the situation, which is something I think we can all benefit from. I won't lie to you though, not everyone is going to like you as the Luna, but not everyone will like me as the Alpha either. As long as we do the best we can with what we have, we will take care of the majority.. which is our priority... You also have to realize you can't make everyone happy in our positions but that it's ok... Just as long as you are by my side, I know we can do this to the best of our abilities, together." I smile up at him and nod in understanding. He pulls the hand he is still holding in his hand to his lips, pressing them against it so softly. This action makes my normal blush just slightly redder as I feel my face heating up.

Man, it's crazy how he never has to do much for me to be fully attracted to him and blushing like a giddy little schoolgirl. It's almost infuriating how much he affects my body to the point I have no control. I'm an adult, I should have control over my own body.. but here we are blushing uncontrollably again.

He turns back to the pack house and I follow his lead. With him opening the door, exposing that everyone is still staring at me. but they make a pathway for us to walk through because I don't know who would be brave enough to stand in Dominic's way. We are making it through the waves of people as I feel someone grab my arm, flipping me around aggressively. It's Paytan, her face is red but not like a blush like mine, but red as if she is holding her breath in with a fit of anger building up inside of her like a pot of water about ready to boil over. She looks furious, which is understandable because of the recent events, but she is not just furious, she is livid with me.

"What? Do you think you are better than us? Staying out there with MY mother!" She says this as she hits her chest in aggression to try to be intimidating to me..but she is not. I have never been scared of her ever... So I look at her with confusion evident all over my face. I felt Dominic getting protective, trying to pull at my hand he still has hold of, to put me behind him, so I turn to put my open hand to his chest gently, stopping him, silently letting him know I can handle this.

I turn back to Paytan as I respond, "No Paytan, I have never once in my life ever thought I was better than you or your family or even this pack... I stayed out there with your mother because I know what it's like to be alone and it's not a good feeling and I didn't want her to be alone in the last moments here in this world." I say honestly to her as she scoffs and says back, "I don't care what my mother said happened.. or the evidence that was found... you will always be the loser wh*re who couldn't get her own man, so she became a homewrecker... That will be the idea in my mind forever. I know this innocence is just an act and I can't wait until I figure out some way to get you back for what you have done to me!" She storms off, shoulder-checking me in the process as she leaves the pack house with a determination of fury in her step.

I feel sad about that statement because she is probably right.. even though the evidence has come out along with the confession.. people are still going to believe what they want to believe, whether it's the truth or not. This statement in itself hurts because it's the hard truth and there is nothing I can do about that. People have to choose on their own, to change their minds if they want to because there is no way I can make them.

"That's not true.. we will never look at you the same and are so sorry we ever believed what she said about you. It was sweet what you did for our Luna out there. It was very respectful.. thank you." The nice old woman that lives down the street from me says this as she gives me a small hug and walks past us.

"She is right, it was very respectful and we are just not used to that... We are respectful in our own ways, but deep down we are still animals and don't always make the best decisions about how to handle things... Hence, my daughter is letting animalistic anger consume her... But here is my other daughter taking the hits and still standing strong. I'm very proud of the actions you have taken and I know you will be a wonderful Luna for Alpha Dominic." I hear my father say this from behind us as I turn around to see him smiling a very small smile at me as he gives me a hug, then putting his hand on my shoulder as he walks past. Multiple other pack members put their hands on my shoulder and nodded at me, some with smiles and some not.. but all in approval as they passed.

"See, I told you that you wouldn't make everyone happy, but you can make a majority of them happy and that was proven right here." Dominic whispers in my ear, making me smile. Maybe he is right. Maybe I can do this just by being myself.

Dominic's POV

I watch everyone around her with approval written all over their faces as they pass us patting Ashleigh on the shoulder.

See I knew they would love her, I bet our pack would adore her as well.

Miles states to me, making me smile and nod as I bend down close to her ear, taking in her sweet scent before I whisper, "See I told you that you wouldn't make everyone happy but you can make a majority of them happy and that was proven right here." She has a small smile but a smile at least. She has no confidence in herself and yet she is doing an amazing job and deserves to have all the confidence in the world. I tighten my grip on her hand, leading her out into the main room in search of our baby girl.

I see the Alpha playing and holding Aurora as they joke and snuggle. She puts one hand on his cheek and the other bopping his nose. That action alone puts the biggest, most genuine smile plastered on his face... This just makes me so happy. It's nice to see someone putting a smile on his face after such a hard situation for him. He is tickling and talking with her as they play with little toy cars. They go to the window and I see him showing her the cars parked out front. He is showing her the car in her hand compared to the one out there and Aurora looks star-struck, to say the least.

I look at Ashleigh and you can't tear the smile off her face. She looks so happy at the sight before her. I know she has wanted a family that cares for her baby girl and she has finally got it... or at least a start to it. They play and talk for a little bit longer as Aurora gets up and runs to us with so much enthusiasm in her step before asking, "Mommy can I see Grandpa's fun car? He says if it's ok with you, he can take me for a ride and that it's fast!" Aurora bounces on her toes in anticipation of her mother's answer.

Ashleigh looks a little questionable as she hesitates, then groans softly before saying, "Ok fine, but just around the area not too far and I'll wait for you outside." She instructs, then looks at her father with her finger pointing at him in a warning. He chuckles, putting his hands up in surrender, and says. "It's fine Ash, you can have some drinks and hang out with everyone out front because we are having a wake for the Luna. We will be back before you know it." I can see her rolling her eyes as she huffs saying, "Fine one, maybe two drinks, then you might have to take me for a ride around in this fast car!" She says almost sarcastically as he smiles and laughs louder than before.

I love how she can put a smile on anyone's face.

Miles says in awe of our mate again. He is a love-sick puppy now. Aurora starts bouncing up and down more as she grabs hold of Ashleigh's hand and almost drags her toward the front door. Ashleigh holds Aurora's hand tight in hers as we walk through the rest of the pack house outside. Aurora tries to run off down the driveway after her Grandfather to get to the car, but Ashleigh keeps a good grip on her hand. She squats down in front of her saying, "excuse me miss, but I think you're forgetting something. Don't I need something before you go?"

Aurora smiles and crashes her body full speed into Ashleigh's, almost knocking her over as she gives her the biggest hug and a kiss saying, "Thank you, mommy, I love you." Ash kisses her cheek and says back, "I love you more baby have fun." Aurora turns to me jumping with her arms stretched up to me, as I pick her up and hug her tight. She gives me a soft kiss on the cheek saying, "I love you too daddy, I'll see you soon, but take care of mommy." I chuckle at this command as I see Ashleigh rolling her eyes again, but you can tell it's out of humor. "I will princess, have fun!" I set her down and as her feet touch the ground she takes off so quickly towards her new grandpa.

I turned to the table behind us and swiftly grabbed a drink for my Luna because I feel she needs one after today. She smiles, accepting it from me as Stefanie walks up to her. They start having girl talk, of course, getting all chatting with their inside jokes and playful hits and punches back and forth... I just watch them with amusement.

Alpha, can you come over here for a minute?

Nate asks in the mind link, as I take a look around and see he is standing by Lucas and Wesley. I look at Ashleigh and kiss her on the cheek as I say, "Nate wants to talk to me I'll be right back." She smiles and nods at me as I turned around, walking across the open lawn to Nate, Lucas, and Wesley. "Hey, guys, what's going on?" I inquired as I approached the group of guys.

Lucas looks nervous but is the one to speak up, "I think we need to keep an eye out on Paytan, the Alpha's daughter. I overheard her trying to talk to Mike about a bomb and he completely objected, but she kept trying to convince him. She also kept mentioning Ashleigh but Mike objected more.. but that doesn't surprise me. Before all this stuff came out in the open, Mike had a huge crush on Ashleigh for.. forever." I looked around the area and saw Mike and his friend from the bar the other night and they are both staring at Ashleigh and Stefanie. But Mike shakes his head and glances around until our eyes lock. They stay locked for a moment until he turns away.

"Yea she did tell Ashleigh inside that she can't wait until she finds some way to get her back for today." I tell them as they all groan and say in unison, "even though it wasn't her fault?" I nod then respond, "Yup, somehow she is still getting blamed for the abuse she was put through... But.. I don't see Paytan around right now, so I will keep an eye out for sure. Thank you for the heads up, Lucas." I hear giggling, taking me out of the conversation with the guys, so I took a look around. My gaze glides across the crowds of people until I see the Alpha buckling Aurora into the front seat, making sure she is secure for their fun car ride.

She smiles so big as she waves enthusiastically to Ashleigh across the way. Ash smiles even bigger in response, as she waves back and blows her a kiss. I turn back around smiling as I ask, "So Lucas, you're helping us out again on your own accord... I think that's a sign that you do want to come with us to our pack." I smirk at him, as Nate and Wes smile then nod in agreement. We have all come to like Lucas. He is a good likable man and does great work. It's hard to come by a hard, dedicated, loyal man like him, hence why I won't leave him alone about this offer.

He matches our smirks as well. He opens his mouth to respond as we hear a deafening loud explosion behind us. The boom is so loud that you can feel the ground shake beneath our feet. We all duck down to take cover, trying to figure out what the explosion was and where it came from. There is debris everywhere and with all the smoke it's hard to see what's happening around us at the moment.

We hear people running and screaming all across the pack front grounds. I scope around the area, staying alert to the threat at hand... I can't tell what the threat is, let alone if it is gone, as I hear a blood-curdling scream piercing my ears, "AURORA!!" I look up to see Stefanie trying to hold Ashleigh back with all of her strength. I follow her gaze, heading to the fire... It takes me a second to figure it out... But the explosion that took place destroyed the car Aurora and the Alpha were in, setting the whole little area on fire.

There is no possible way she survived all of that. The explosion and fire are something you won't be able to survive, especially since I saw Alpha Dave buckling her in, so I bet she had no way to get out from being so secured into the seat. I look back to Stefanie, she looks like she is losing grip on Ashleigh but trying with all her might to hold her out of protection. In the next moment, Ashleigh swiftly contorts out of Stefanie's arms and starts running with so much haste towards the car that Aurora was in, that's now completely engulfed in flames.

I get up as quickly as I can running with all my speed in me to stop her before she jumps into the fire, most likely killing herself trying to save her baby that's already gone. I run and run as if my life depends on it. I get there just in time to wrap my arms around her waist with a death grip, flipping her around and away from the torched car. She starts to hit me, trying to get out of my hold, but I just tighten my hold around her. She somehow is able to get turned around in my tight hold as she tries to push off my chest to get me to let her go.

"No! not my baby! please no! God no!" She keeps hitting my chest, not believing what she had seen, trying to get out of my tight grip.

"Ashleigh baby stop, she is gone.. I'm so sorry but she is gone. You can't save her from this baby! You're just going to kill yourself trying. Please stop!" I try to get her to come to her senses but she just cries and hits more. "No Dom I can save her! Let me go please!"

Another loud explosion booms behind us as I duck and cover over the top of Ashleigh's body, trying to protect her from anything that's flying from the second smaller explosion.

I hear whimpers under me as I sit up looking down at Ashleigh, trying to inspect her all around and see if she got hurt in the explosion... She did get hurt in that explosion, but not the way you would expect. Her heart broke into a million pieces from it. I pick her up off the ground as she grabs hold of my arms with the tightest grip ever so that she might be piercing my skin through the shirt... She hysterically cries into my chest, begging me, "Please Dom no.. save her please.. not my baby girl. She is an innocent, amazing soul.. please save her." She begs me, as her hold on me gets tighter, crying into my chest. I tighten my grip around her into my protective embrace so there is no space between us at this point.

My heart breaks at this moment for so many reasons. The sweetest girl was taken too soon for who knows what reason, but one thing we do know for sure is that it wasn't for anything she did.. I now have to hold my mate as her heart is smashed into so many pieces that I will never be able to fully put back together. She will never be the same after this loss. Who can blame her? I mean who honestly could?

She is shaking uncontrollably as she is gasping for air from hysterically crying. People start to gather around us. Their faces are covered in despair as they take in the scene before them of an unconditionally loving mother with a broken heart. The loss of a child is something no parent ever wishes to experience.. but seeing it firsthand is the most heart-clenching experience I have ever been through.

My heart has never hurt so much over the loss of someone I only just met, but my blood is boiling over. I want to murder whoever did this.

No not our girl! Not our baby girl! If I ever figure out who killed our baby girl I tearing them apart limb by limb!

Miles screams in my head as a deep spine-chilling roar comes out of my mouth because of the pain and anger.